Come to the Water
by notenoughpotter
Summary: Elena's life comes full circle as she has to make a choice. Spoilers for 322
1. Chapter 1

Well guys, one good thing about a scene that rocked me to my core…I can't finish processing till I write a one-shot about it. It's angsty – but, what else can you expect after this finale?

Spoilers ahead – proceed with caution.

Rating: Teen…it's heavy, but there's really nothing to warn about.

Disclaimer: Excerpts of "Come Away to the Water" by Maroon 5. TVD is not my creation. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

"_Since I'm….possibly a dead man, can I ask you a question? If it was just down to him and me, and you had to make a choice who got the goodbye, who would it be?"_

Elena's breath caught in her chest – not this…not now. She wasn't ready. She didn't have an answer because no matter what her heart told her – she knew she couldn't cope with losing anyone else.

Through the earpiece of the phone, she heard his expectant breaths….waiting on the answer she didn't have. Just like when she'd been talking to Matt only hours before, she knew they both meant something to her.

But only one promised not to leave her again.

She thought back to that night. His arms cradling her to his chest as she barely had the strength to rest her hand on his shoulder. As soon as her eyes had focused on his face at her bedside, she'd known she was going to be alright. Damon was there. He'd save her. As he wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and gave her a drink to ward off the memories of Stefan's attack – he'd been there.

And as his eyes locked on hers, he promised.

She thought of a second set of eyes. Green eyes so sad and wounded when she couldn't say the words he so desperately needed to hear. So she looked away. Elena couldn't promise she didn't feel something for Damon.

Because it wasn't true.

When she looked back at him, she saw the truth. Stefan couldn't share her. He needed her to love him…and only him. That's why she couldn't admit the truth – she couldn't even say it to herself. But she'd said it once to Matt. Damon had snuck up on her and gotten under her skin in ways she couldn't explain…and couldn't make go away. The green eyes told the truth, though. If she said it. If she admitted it out loud. She'd lose him.

And right now, she couldn't lose anyone else.

And so, she said the words that cut like a knife into her chest. "No matter what I feel for you, I never un-fell for Stefan." It was true. No matter how hard she tried….or wanted to run away from it, her heart was torn between the brothers – they each fed a different part of her soul.

Only one of the brothers said he'd stay – no matter what.

The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening. She didn't need to see him to know the pain that filled his eyes right now.

But it would be okay.

Damon _wasn't _going to die. He couldn't. He promised not to leave her.

Soon, they'd be standing face to face. She could explain what she hadn't been able to say over the phone. He'd smirk, and she'd know he understood. Because this was _Damon _she was talking to – they always survived.

"You're going to be fine. You're going to be okay. I'm going to see you soon."

"_Real soon. Goodbye Elena."_

Soon.

She'd see him soon.

Like a record stuck in a groove, the words played on a never-ending loop in her head.

* * *

Matt just drove silently on – away from one half her heart and toward the other – and she felt herself tearing apart.

Tyler was dead.

Or he soon would be. Listening to the grief in Caroline's voice tore a wider hole in her heart. She wasn't even sure if she could really call him a friend, but his death carved one more notch in this whole insane experience.

She wanted it to be a dream – a nightmare. And she was ready to wake up.

Waking up….Stefan had helped her at her darkest moments. He wiped the fog away. She needed to talk with him. Pulling the phone from her pocket, she took a breath, praying that he'd answer – knowing that Damon had to be right. Klaus had been lying. He wasn't the originator of the line of vampires that she held dear.

Her phone blinked a warning at her as she dialed. It couldn't make another call. "Matt." She turned and once again, he was there for her. Turning his eyes from the road for an instant, he reached out and gave her his phone.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elena realized where they were. She hated this stretch of the road into Mystic Falls. If there were an easy way to avoid Wickery Bridge, she knew Matt would have taken it, but right now, they simply didn't have the time.

And then she saw her, but it was too late. Their time was over.

_Come away little loss. Come away to the water._

_To the ones that are waiting only for you._

The minutes slowed to a crawl as they passed by with such detail. Elena felt every pulse of her heart…heard every whisper of her own breath. Unlike last time, she stayed awake as the river claimed them for its own.

She'd escaped once – cheated death. As the water rushed into the truck, Elena thought back to the irony of the past year and a half...so much time and energy focused on simply keeping her alive.

Maybe that was the problem.

She shouldn't be alive now. A supernatural creature had cheated death…and now death had come back to find her.

She looked at Matt. Eyes closed – unaware of the watery grave filling around him. He was here because he was the latest hero attempting to keep her alive.

She refused to let him die for her. She tugged at the locked seatbelt, and beat at the unyielding glass with her elbow, trying not to think of her other option. If she'd chosen to keep going, not turn around, she wouldn't be here.

Her decision to return to Stefan truly brought her full circle.

* * *

_Come away little loss. Come away to the water._

_Away from the life that you always knew._

Pom-poms.

Laughter around the dinner table.

Cold nights spent staring into the fireplace flames.

Ferris wheels.

Laughing as she twirled in his arms.

Blue eyes.

She'd never get a chance to explain her choice that really wasn't a choice at all.

* * *

_Come away little light. Come away to the darkness._

_In the shade of the night, we'll come looking for you._

Klaus.

Esther.

One name after another, their very existence brought death and loss into her life. As the sharp edges of the world around her faded into a blur, a shape was outlined in the window.

Of course.

She had to smile at the irony. The story really _had _circled around on itself, but this time it would have a different ending.

* * *

_Come away little lamb. Come away to the water._

_Give yourself so we might live anew._

Stefan's arms reached for her to pull her to safety, but she couldn't let him. Matt wouldn't be here if he hadn't been trying to save her.

No one else would die for her.

One frantic push. She shook her head no. Stefan _had _to understand. She pleaded with him using the last ounce of strength she possessed.

Stefan could save Matt.

And she'd save everyone else she loved. If Stefan were still here, then they were safe for now. But she knew Alaric wouldn't give up that easily. He'd keep trying to kill the vampires until his last breath.

But right here…right now, she had the power to stop him. No one was there to stop her – to sacrifice themselves in her stead.

_Just one breath_ – it would be over.

The ultimate Original would crumble to the ground.

_Just one breath_ – they'd all be safe.

No one else would seek out the doppleganger's blood at the risk of those around her.

_Just one breath_ – life as she knew it was over.

* * *

Sorry. I said it was angsty. Y'all know me well enough by now to take that word seriously from me.

If there's enough interest, I MIGHT write a companion piece in Damon's head. I'm between edits of the novel right now, so I have a tiny bit of free time. Speaking of….I'm still waiting on the actual release date, but I'm thinking it'll be the first Tuesday in August.

As always, thanks for reading. Reviews make the writer's heart go pitter patter.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes: First off, thanks for the amazing response to (what is now) chapter one. Originally intended as a one-shot, it looks as if this will be more likely end up between 4 and 5 chapters in length.

Before we move into the story itself, I do want to address an issue from yesterday – rude messages from reviewers. I'm a professional writer by trade. If I couldn't handle critique, I'm totally in the wrong line of work. Critique is one thing – just being rude is completely another. If you don't like the story, feel free to move on. It isn't everyone's cup of tea. But, if you feel the need to be rude – by all means put it in the reviews so that EVERYONE can see it – don't hide behind the private messaging system here. At one point, I considered pulling the story completely, but that wouldn't be fair to those of you who seemed happy to have my story here on the site.

Now that we've gotten that pesky little bit of housekeeping out of the way, let's continue on. I will admit that later in the story, I've incorporated one of my "pet theories" that has little basis in the show, but please remember, this is MY version of the story. I can take a few liberties.

Rating: Mature – violence, character death, adult content, mild language

* * *

"Did you _really _think you ever stood a chance?" Alaric stood in the doorway, bracing himself against the doorframe with one hand. At Damon's questioning look, Alaric tapped his ear and smiled.

"Well," Damon gave his trademark smirk, "there was that one time in the motel." He looked on the man who was formerly his friend, but there was no sign of the Alaric he knew behind the darkened eyes.

"Even if she did feel something for you, she'd never let herself admit it." Alaric took one step in Damon's direction. "Trust me." He chuckled low in his chest. "She wanted me, well…the _other _me to tell her she couldn't go on the trip."

Damon rose to his feet as Alaric closed in slowly – a mouse taunting his cornered prey.

"You really should thank me for this." Inhumanly fast, Alaric closed the distance between the men as he raised the deadly splinter of wood above his head. Sweeping his leg beneath Damon's ankles, the older vampire dropped to the floor as if he were a rag doll. His head struck the concrete floor and the sound echoed off the metal walls of the storage building.

Seizing hold of Alaric's wrist, Damon pushed back and succeeded in throwing the taller man off-balance. Scampering out from beneath him, Damon sped to the opposite side of the room.

Alaric grinned.

For the first time since that night of the sacrifice when he saw Elena lying motionless atop the rock, real fear seeped into Damon's soul. He was no match for the new Original. And even if he _could _kill him – he wouldn't. In order for Elena to keep breathing, Alaric had to stay alive.

And Alaric knew it.

"You've figured it out." Alaric juggled the stake between his hands, taunting Damon. "There's only one way to kill me…and you're the one vampire who won't do it." Alaric attempted to close the gap between the men, but Damon flashed to the opposite side of the loading dock.

Damon rested his palms against the hood of Klaus' SUV. He'd spent too many nights drinking his cares away at Alaric's side. His friend knew all his secrets. "You won't kill me."

Before Damon's eyes had a chance to focus, Alaric had him pinned to the floor – the stake inches from his chest. "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Like an epic game of reverse arm wrestling, Damon pushed back at Alaric's wrist as the stake inched closer to Damon's chest. "I'm your friend."

A flash of recognition flashed across Alaric's eyes. "You were my friend." He leaned down and whispered into Damon's ear. "And that's why I'm doing you this favor. You really don't want to be here to watch, do you?" He twisted up the corner of his lips in a wry smile. "Do you really want to see her with _him?_ Second best again…Katherine, Stefan, your father? They always picked someone else over you." The stake closed in, Damon couldn't even see where his jacket stopped and the stake began.

"I've. Got. To. Watch. What. I. Say. When. I. Drink." He pushed back with every ounce of strength he had left.

"Or at least make sure you're really talking to a friend." Alaric pressed down, and the first hint of crimson stained Damon's shirt. "Of course, she won't have long to spend with your brother – not after I finish off the rest of the Originals. She'll probably need someone to watch over her then…she's just a magnet for trouble." Alaric twisted the stake in Damon's chest. "Well, you know, she does have a thing for older men." The leer in Alaric's eye was the final straw.

With strength he didn't know he possessed, Damon threw Alaric against the far wall and closed in. "Leave. Her. Alone."

Alaric struck back, knocking Damon back against a boat stored in the center of the room. One hand closed around Damon's neck, and the other gripped the stake tightly above his chest for the third time. As the edges of the world around him grew fuzzy and dim, Damon gripped Alaric's shirt and by sheer force of will propelled him back against the doorframe.

And Alaric stumbled.

Looking wildly around the room, Alaric balanced himself by holding onto Damon's arm as he sought out an unseen attacker. Gasping for breath, his knees buckled. "What's happening?"

Damon caught Alaric just before he collapsed and studied the vampire who'd been winning the battle just seconds before. The stake was still safely in his hand. No obvious wounds could be found on his body.

But he was still dying.

"No." Damon watched as Alaric's face took on a gray cast, and he stared in disbelief as the telltale veins crawled across his skin. "No! You can't."

Alaric's hand gripped Damon's shirt as he tugged the older vampire closer to him. For an instant, he was once again looking into the eyes of his friend.

"You're not dead." Desperation took over as Damon lowered Alaric to the ground. "You're _not _dead!" Despite what his eyes told him, Damon fought against the panic rising in his chest. Alaric was gone, and that meant Elena…..

* * *

She wasn't dead. She couldn't be. Over and over like a never-ending refrain, the words echoed through his mind as the countryside flashed by the car windows.

_Dialtone…. _Damon stared at his phone's screen as Elena failed to answer.

"_Hey! You've reached Jeremy. I can't answer right now. Leave a message. I'll call you back." _Damon impatiently scrolled to the next number in his directory.

"_You've reached Matt. I'm busy right now, but I'll call you back." _Damon shook his head. "Really people? One of you can't answer your damned phone?"

Red and blue lights flashed in the window behind him as he glared at the final number on his list. He didn't have time for this. Turning off his headlights, he pushed the pedal to the floor and dared the small town police officer to give chase. He needed a distraction from the name that stared up at him in accusation.

_Stefan._

He promised. One of them had to keep going with Klaus' body. One of them had to return to Mystic Falls to protect Elena.

Stefan promised she'd be safe.

Damon knew he meant it. If there was one thing about his brother he never questioned, it was the unyielding love and devotion he felt for Elena.

He glanced in the rearview mirror as the red and blue faded into the distance, just like he'd watched the life seep from Alaric's eyes.

Elena. Wasn't. Dead.

The witch did something wrong. She made a mistake. Her powers were growing weak once Abby was turned. It was that simple… Alaric died because she hadn't successfully done the spell.

Damon sped up the familiar tree-lined highway leading into town – and promptly drove off the road.

In the distance, the road was lit as brightly as daylight. Firetrucks. Police cars. Tow trucks. A crane. They all stood parked haphazardly around Wickery Bridge as a handful of rescue workers peered into the murky waters below. They were watching as an all too familiar truck dangled in midair as water poured from its engine.

"_Matt's driving me home, Damon." _Elena's words echoed in his mind – replacing his earlier mantra.

"No!" Damon's almost inhuman scream woke the birds in the trees and scattered them into the night.

* * *

Not even sure how he got there, Damon found himself staring at the emergency entrance to Mystic Falls General. That's why no one was answering him. Phones didn't work in hospitals.

Bonnie.

Caroline.

Jeremy.

Matt.

Stefan.

They were here - with her. And he was going to kill them for not calling him to let him know she'd been in a wreck. His hands struck the door so hard it bounced off the wall, and the glass threatened to shatter.

_Meredith._

At least he didn't have far to look. "Where is she?" He didn't even break his stride as he began to make his way into the emergency room bays. She was talking to someone. He didn't care. Elena was here…somewhere. He needed to find her. "Where _is she?" _He rounded on Meredith, fighting to maintain is currently fragile state of control.

"….needed my help."

Meredith's words failed to break through the fear radiating through him. "What?"

"Elena was hurt, Damon. It wasn't a concussion. When Jeremy brought her in earlier, she was going to die. I _helped _her." The sorrow in Meredith's eyes spoke to him more than her words ever could. Her words dropped to a whisper. "She's in the morgue. Stefan's with her."

Stefan's with her. That was supposed to make him feel better? His footsteps echoed through the empty basement hallway.

He left Stefan with her…to keep her safe.

"Damon. I'm so sorry." Matt stepped from a darkened corridor – his hair still damp and water from his jacket dripping onto the tile around his feet. "Rebekah was in the road. The truck went off the bridge. And the next thing I knew, Stefan was leaning over me on the bank of the river."

"Stefan pulled you out?"

Matt took a step back from Damon, for the first time in a long time, honestly afraid of the older of the vampire brothers. "He said she told him to."

Damon's jaw locked as he turned away from Matt before he did something he'd definitely regret later.

Right now, he had two goals in mind. He needed to see Elena…and then he was going to kill his brother. He stood before the closed door. Morgue. Pushing it open, his brother sat vigil at Elena's side.

Just like Sleeping Beauty, her long lashes curled against her pale cheeks.

"Damon." Stefan's voice cracked as he registered the fact his brother entered the room.

And that's when Damon's anger was finally unleashed. "You saved Matt?" He threw Stefan against the wall.

"It's what she wanted." Stefan twisted in an attempt to pull himself from his brother's grip.

"And this….what you're waiting on….is that what she wanted too?" Damon felt the first hint of satisfaction as Stefan's jaw cracked beneath his fist.

A cough. A gasp sounded behind them. Damon released Stefan from his grip and the brothers turned and looked at her in unison.

Elena sat up, clutching the table beneath her, as her eyes darted around the room in a mixture of confusion and terror. Finally, her eyes fixed on something, and she showed the faintest hint of recognition. "Damon?" She reached out to him as her doe eyes pooled with tears. "I thought I was drowning."

He crossed the room with slow, deliberate steps, never taking his eyes from hers. He took one hand in his while the other stroked her cold cheek. "Elena." His voice shook with emotion, and her eyes widened in fear. "You did."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Don't get used to this many updates this fast from me…. I happen to have an unexpected amount of idle time on my hands – and nervous energy to spare. Add to that the fact that I'm presently between deadlines, and you end up with this – a 5 chapter fanfic completed in less than a week. (Because if all goes well, the two last chapters will post Friday and Saturday, respectively.)

Yes, I know the first two chapters depended heavily on the finale, but you needed some of the information in Damon and Elena's thoughts in order for the next chapters to really make sense.

This is the last of the "heavy" chapters, but if you make it through it, I think you'll be happy with it.

As always, reviews make an author's heart go pitter patter.

I don't own TVD. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while. I'll put them back later, I promise.

Rating: Mature – character death, language, adult content, violence, alcohol use

* * *

"She wanted me to save Matt." Stefan leaned forward and braced his hands on the back of wing chair adjacent to the couch.

"And you couldn't save both of them? You're a _vampire. _Grab him with one hand and her with the other."

Stefan shot a look of accusation in Damon's direction. "You weren't there…"

"No. I wasn't." Damon's face folded into a grimace. "I was getting the crap knocked out of me by Evilaric at the time." The boards overhead creaked, and his voice dropped to little more than a whisper. "Because you said you'd take care of her."

The two brothers circled each other like points on a compass. Not for the first time, the Salvatore living room was simply too small for both of them. But neither wanted to leave…not right now. Golden yellow shafts of light signaled the coming night – the end of the longest day Damon could ever remember.

"She. Can. Hear. You." Caroline hissed as she stood at the foot of the staircase.

Of course she could hear them. Damon was painfully aware of that fact…and it was the only reason he hadn't begun to sever his relationship with his brother – one limb at a time. Stefan looked at Caroline with eager anticipation, but Damon didn't even bother.

He'd been in the hallway listening as she'd sobbed into the phone in conversation with Jeremy. He'd looked at Elena's face after Stefan had finished talking with her. Tear-stained and blotchy – the only reason he'd been in the room at all was to prevent his brother from taking the decision out of her hands.

Caroline's broken expression said it all. She placed the untouched tumbler on the center of the coffee table, and tried to still her shaking fingers. "She still says no."

Stefan squeezed the back of the chair until the springs threatened to break…and then his little brother was gone.

Caroline nervously chewed her bottom lip as she looked at the blank space left by Stefan's departure. She rocked uncomfortably on her heels as she looked at Damon with trepidation. "She wants to talk to you. Before…."

Damon pursed his lips and nodded. Of course she did. He still had a few pieces of his heart left intact. Caroline's eyes narrowed as she took a step closer to him. "Don't worry. I won't do anything we'll regret." Been there. Done that. He had the scars to match.

* * *

"Don't blame Stefan." Sitting in the exact center of the bed she'd adopted as her own months ago, she looked more delicate than usual. Guess drowning would do that to you…. Her knees were drawn to her chest, and she rested her chin on the blanket covering her legs. She tilted her head to the side and turned her doe eyes on him – he tried not to notice as they sparkled a little too brightly. "It was the only way to stop _him _from hurting the rest of you."

And everything suddenly made sense.

"No! No. No. No. No. _No!" _He crossed the room and knelt at the side of the bed. "Tell me you didn't."

Instead of shrinking back as he expected, she looked him straight in the eye and gave a sad smile. "He wasn't going to give up until you were all dead. I'd talked with Caroline. I knew that y'all were okay…for now. But he wasn't going to stop." She gave a pointed look at the blood still covering his shirt. "I had an opportunity and I took it."

"He can't hurt any of you anymore." She winced and drew in a sharp breath, and he was at her side in a blur. Without thinking, he wrapped his arm around her as he focused on the labored beat of her heart. As her muscles gradually relaxed, she turned back to him with an attempt at a cheerful expression. "Is it your turn to convince me now?"

Damon didn't have to ask what she meant. He'd heard her say goodbye to Jeremy. He'd listened as the Petrova fire raged as she faced off with Stefan about her decision. Caroline's sobs carried into the library as he finished off his second bottle of whisky in two hours. At the sound of the tearful goodbye the two friends should never have had to experience, he almost flew up the stairs and took the decision away from her.

Almost.

But he didn't.

Because he remembered that night not too long ago as he stood in the darkness… a red-haired young woman standing frozen next to her car – because he compelled her to stay. In one moment of perfect clarity, he was completely honest…with a perfect stranger. The one thing he missed most was his humanity. He wouldn't force this life on her.

He might have started on this path of his own doing, but the final decision had been taken from him. He wouldn't do that to Elena. "No." He cupped her cheek in his hand and stroked it with the pad of his thumb. "It's your choice."

"Thank you." Elena's voice shook and her eyes finally overflowed with tears she'd been holding back. "I don't want to be a vampire, Damon. I'm sorry."

"I know you don't." He pulled her closer in to his side and stroked her hair. "I remember."

Elena stiffened at the sound of his words. He felt her pulse quicken beneath his hand, and she drew in a breath. "Damon, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

She swallowed thickly as she pulled back to better look into his eyes. "Why did you make me forget?" She stared at him with such a pointed intensity, he didn't have to ask what she meant.

"Which time?"

"My necklace." She rolled her eyes and gave a genuine smile. "You know I tried to figure that out for the longest time. It was gone, and then I had it. I never really understood how…"

"That was all part of the plan." He gave a cocky grin, and then he became serious. "It was something I needed to say, but one look into your eyes…and I knew you weren't ready to hear it."

"You didn't think you deserved me."

Damon frowned and shook his head. "I don't."

"But you wanted me to believe Stefan does?" A look of confusion clouded Elena's face.

"I." Damon shook his head. _I don't deserve you….but my brother does. _"Damn it." He wiped the last lingering tear off her cheek. "I compelled you to stay with Stefan." A rough laugh escaped him. "No wonder I never stood a chance."

They sat in silence as Damon realized Elena's weight was gradually resting more heavily on him. As he was aware of every breath passing in and out of her lungs, he glanced down at her. "And what you said in the truck?"

"I couldn't loose anyone else. I knew no matter which of you I chose, you'd stay. You wouldn't leave me. You promised that night after you saved me." Elena let the unspoken statement stand for itself. If she'd picked Damon, Stefan would have left. She knew Damon too well. No matter how much it hurt, he'd never leave her side – no matter what he promised his brother.

And it was why he was still here now.

She reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly. "I'm tired, Damon."

"I know." Carefully, he leaned back onto the pile of white pillows and guided Elena down alongside him. Almost immediately, she shifted in place and reached for his hand again. "Can you tell me one thing? If I hadn't compelled you…could it have been different?"

Elena flinched and looked away. "Please don't ask me that."

"Elena." He reached under her chin and tilted her face up to look into his. She flinched and her hand squeezed tightly around his. Her eyes closed, and he thought he'd missed his last chance at an answer.

When she finally spoke, it was little more than a whisper. "I wanted a love that consumed me. I wanted passion and adventure." She choked on her words as she struggled to continue. "And even a little danger." Her brown eyes blazed as she looked into the depths of his soul. "Damon, I might have made a different choice."

He leaned down and lightly kissed her, and he felt her lips curl into a ghost of a smile. As he pulled away, her eyes didn't reopen.

_This _was his penance…his payment for all the years that he simply didn't care. Four days ago, he'd leaned against the wall of his family's crypt and was forced to watch as his best friend's life slowly faded away before his eyes.

And now this.

He entwined his fingers with hers as he kissed the top of her head, trying not to think about what could have been. The front door creaked open, and for a moment, he assumed Caroline just hadn't been able to bear listening any longer; but then he heard the footsteps on the stairs.

With strength he didn't know she still possessed, Elena's eyes opened and she fought to sit up. "Stefan." Her face fell as she looked at the tumbler in his hand. "Stefan…I'm not going to do it."

Stefan shook his head and took a step back. "Don't tell me." He beckoned someone forward. "Tell him."

"Elena." Jeremy walked into the room, looking every bit the frightened teenager he was. "Don't leave me too."

Elena turned on Stefan with tears in her eyes. "You don't fight fair." She gripped the blanket until her knuckles turned white.

"I lost you once today." Stefan's voice shook. "I'm not going to do it again."

"Jeremy, get out of here." Damon advanced on his brother. "She made her decision."

"And it was the wrong one." Stefan closed in on Elena, glass in hand. He looked at Jeremy before giving the glass one final shake.

"Elena, you don't have to…" Damon began, but it was too late. In one swift motion, Elena reached for the glass and choked as she took a sip.

The transition was complete.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: I have to say thanks for the wonderful reception this story has received from so many of y'all. I know I've been delayed in answering my reviews, but I want to let you know I read every one of them. I promise I'll answer each of y'all shortly. Thanks again for taking the time to read and let me know what you think of the story.

This was never intended to be a long story, so we have this chapter and one more to go. I hope y'all continue to enjoy it. Thanks a million!

Rating: Mature – language, adult content, character death, alcohol use

I don't own TVD. I'm just borrowing the characters for a bit.

* * *

Caroline poured a glass of bourbon, put it to her lips, and drank it in a single gulp. Placing the glass back on the table with such force the wood threatened to crack, she refilled her drink to the brim.

"_Stefan 101 _went that well?" Damon looked up from the book he was pretending to read while he waited for the trio to return from their excursion.

Rolling her eyes as she began her third drink, Caroline shook her head. "I thought we were making progress. Then she noticed the rabbit was the same color as Thumper."

"Thumper?" Damon decided this might be a good time to join Caroline in a drink. Pouring a glass for himself, he took the bottle away from the blonde before she finished it off herself. He had the feeling he'd be needing it before the night was over.

"Our class pet in fourth grade. Elena _loved _that rabbit…at least until Tyler Lockwood took it home over Christmas break and his dog ate it."

"I can imagine Elena didn't handle that well."

Tugging a leaf out of her hair, Caroline shook her head. "She cried for days."

Conversation stopped as Stefan entered the room – a look of defeat evident on his face.

"And tonight's midnight snack looked just like the class bunny. Perfect. I can imagine that's just what she needed to work up a healthy appetite."

"Oh, she's hungry." Caroline nodded knowingly. "She's also just being...Elena. She can be pretty stubborn when she wants to."

He nodded. He'd had more than one encounter with that version of Elena. He glanced at Stefan as he stared out the window. Fighting the urge to make a sarcastic comment about people being stubborn in their decision-making, he turned his attention back to Caroline. "And where are we on the witch front?"

Caroline shrugged her shoulders. "Bonnie still says that until we can show Elena's in control, it's a no-go." Caroline flinched. "She still remembers the carnival incident."

"I'm sure. But to prove she's in control, she needs to feed, preferably on something that doesn't remind her of a pet." Damon glared at his brother, daring him to speak, but Stefan wisely chose to stay silent. "And when was the last time she ate something?"

"You were there." Stefan's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"One sip? That's all she's had in two days?"

Caroline nodded grimly as she stared in the direction of the front door. "If you two are going to fight again, I'm out of here. I'm tired of playing referee."

"I'll save you the trouble." His decision made, Damon nodded to himself as he put his empty glass on the sideboard.

"What are you doing?" Stefan's brow knit together as Damon pulled his keys from his pocket.

"You've had your turn." Damon began to walk from the room.

"And you think you can do better?"

Damon's lip turned up in a knowing smirk. "Yeah, I do."

* * *

"You want me to what?"

It had taken the better part of a half hour for Damon to convince Matt to invite him into his house, now the Mystic Falls High quarterback looked as if he were giving the invitation serious second thoughts. "You owe her."

"But…."

Not for the first time during the conversation, Damon let out an exasperated breath. "You'll be fine." He arced an eyebrow. "You _might _even enjoy it." He couldn't believe he was having to explain that well-known detail. Matt had dated Caroline for months after she'd turned. Hadn't she shared a few of the _fringe benefits _with her former boyfriend?

"But Caroline said…"

Obviously Caroline was _Team Stefan _when feeding was concerned. It figured... "Listen. I'll be there, and we can even invite Vampire Barbie to the party if it'll make you feel better. We won't let Elena hurt you, if that's what you're afraid of. The idea is to teach her to be a normal vampire - not to make her lock herself in the dungeon."

"I'm not afraid." Matt took two steps back and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I just don't understand why you need me."

Damon leaned forward in his seat on the couch and ticked off his reasons on his fingers. "First, I don't want The Witch to give her an aneurysm. Second, I think having her practice on her brother is a little twisted…even for me. Third, she saved your life. It's time for you to return the favor." He locked eyes with Matt in an unvoiced challenge.

Matt reached for his coat. "Just tell me what I need to do."

* * *

"Hate to interrupt your do-it-yourself desiccation plan you've got going here." Damon walked into Elena's bedroom without knocking and leaned against the doorframe. Crossing his arms and giving her a teasing smile to fight the utter helplessness he felt at the slight grayish tint already visible in her cheeks, he waited for a response. "I understand the Stefan diet's not working out so well for you."

Elena's eyes flicked to his for a fraction of a second. "He looked like Thumper." She squeezed her eyes shut as her lower lip trembled.

"That's what Caroline said." Damon slowly walked into the room and took a seat next to Elena on the bed.

"I don't understand." Elena wiped angry tears from her cheeks. "It worked for Caroline. Stefan taught her how to breathe or something and she was in control in just a few hours. What's wrong with me?" Telltale veins lined her eyes as she became more visibly upset.

"Nothing." Damon smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear and stroked her cheek. A tear trickled from the corner of her eye, and as he wiped it away, he was pleased to see the veins vanish from her face. "You're just not Caroline."

"What does that mean?"

"I mean, Caroline's…._Caroline. _She has her underwear drawer in alphabetical order. Trust me, I know."

"And that means she has control and I don't?" Elena snapped, and Damon chuckled to himself as the hint of fire returned to her eyes.

Damon shrugged one shoulder. "It means we have to try a different approach." Damon narrowed his eyes and took her hands in his. "Do you trust me?"

Elena shook her head. "You know you don't have to ask me that."

"For this, I do." He carefully studied her appearance. From her trembling hands to the hollow set of her eyes, he knew any other vampire as hungry as she was would have emptied a dozen of the bags in the basement by now. Stefan would likely have finished the whole stock off. But Elena was different from anyone he'd ever met, and that's why he was certain this would work. "Elena, when Stefan said he wanted to be the one to help you transition, I didn't argue. I knew that would just have made it harder…on all of us. Because, you know, my brother's the poster boy of control." He was rewarded by a small laugh from Elena. "I knew you'd never be happy if you didn't try it his way first."

Elena started to protest, but he stilled her with a look.

He held up his ring. "Bonnie says you don't get one of these until you show you're in control."

"I've _tried."_

"No you haven't." Damon fixed his eyes on her. "You've stayed in here like you were some type of prisoner, and then you've gone _hunting _with Stefan. I know you're starving – don't even try to deny it. But today, when you had the chance to feed, you stopped…because the rabbit was cute. And that's why I know you can do this." He cleared his throat, waiting for Elena to realize what was about to happen. Even from this distance, he could hear Matt's heart pounding in the hallway. Elena's inexperience as a hunter was likely the only reason she hadn't understood his plan from the start.

Matt's shadow fell across the threshold of the door, and Elena was on her feet, speeding behind the bed. "Damon, what did you do?"

"I'm not compelled, Elena." Matt stood in the doorway, Caroline a few steps behind him. Matt gave Damon a furtive look. "Damon said this would help."

Elena shook her head slowly and her glare shot daggers in Damon's direction. "I won't do it."

"Elena, becoming a vampire means you're still yourself – just more. For you, that means your annoying habit of martyring yourself is taken to an extreme. Trust me, you won't hurt him. You won't let yourself do that." Damon had to admire her control. Even now, as she was literally starving in front of his eyes, she gripped the bed's headboard to keep herself away from her friend.

Matt turned and looked at his former girlfriend. "Elena, Damon said this would help."

Caroline looked back and forth between those standing in the room. It had taken a great deal of persuasion to get her on board with the plan. Even now, she only agreed with Matt being Elena's guinea pig if she were in the room too. She gave Elena an encouraging nod.

Elena's grip loosened on the headboard. "You won't let me hurt him?"

"Trust me." Damon's eyes reinforced the weight of his words. "Matt, this is that _stay relaxed _part we discussed." He watched as Elena took a few tentative steps toward Matt.

The tension building in the room made him question Caroline's control for an instant, but never Elena's. Even as she stood behind a mostly-willing victim, she held her breath in an attempt to keep her new nature in check.

"Just…pretend like you're kissing his neck. Your instincts will take over from there." Damon encouraged as Elena stood behind Matt.

Elena took a deep breath and licked her lower lip. Damon's jeans tightened as he realized she'd seldom looked sexier. At first, Elena did simply kiss Matt. Judging from the expression on the quarterback's face, she'd never kissed him quite like that before.

As Elena relaxed, the first hint of veins appeared as her eyes reddened. Matt winced for a fraction of a second when Elena's veins pierced his skin. Elena's eyes closed and the pleasure was evident on her face as the first warm rush entered her mouth. Elena moaned softly in satisfaction as Damon studied Matt's face for any sign of distress - he didn't see any. Instead, Matt appeared to be having a very good time.

Elena drank more deeply, causing Caroline to tense, but Damon held up a hand in caution. Matt's eyes lost their focus as Elena slowly swallowed. A smile ghosted his lips as Elena pulled him closer against her chest. Caroline's eyes widened in fear as she stared at the pair in front of her. Just as she made the first move to pull Elena off her former boyfriend, Elena's grip on Matt's arm loosened. Taking one last swallow, Elena backed away with a concerned expression in her eyes.

Wiping the trickle of blood away from the corner of her mouth, she glanced at Caroline who was carefully Matt. "Is he okay?"

Still in a pleasure-induced haze, Matt turned to Elena. "I am _very _okay." He glared at Caroline. "Why didn't you tell me it would …." His cheeks reddened as he remembered there was an audience in the room. "Why didn't you tell me it felt like that?"

Damon gave a satisfied grin. "I think he's more than alright."

Relief spread across Elena's face. "I did it."

"I never had a doubt." Damon reached into his pocket and pulled out a blood bag. "Take it. You have to still be hungry." He looked past Matt who was turning an unpleasant shade of green as he watched Elena drink from her vampire Capri-sun. "Everything ready downstairs?"

Caroline nodded. "I even bought whipped cream and hot fudge."

Elena sputtered on her drink. "What?"

"Ice cream sundaes. To celebrate your success." He winked and grinned suggestively. "What were you thinking it was for?"

* * *

One more chapter left. I'm sorry they've been on the short side, but each of these chapters has come to me as isolated elements – not easily combined. I hope the frequency of the updates make up for the length.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Here we go…the last chapter of what might be my last piece of TVD fanfic. I don't have anything else on the "schedule," so I can't promise another story in the relative future. If an idea comes to mind, though, I'll try to share it here with you.

Rating: Mature – adult content, language, violence, character death, alcohol use

I don't own TVD or its characters. I just enjoy taking them out for a spin. I'll give them back, good as new – I promise.

* * *

"Stefan." Elena caught a glimpse of the now-elusive Salvatore brother as he walked past her bedroom. She sped to the doorway and into the hall. "Stefan. I saw you. Come back." Footsteps creaked on the stairs, and she was annoyed as she tried to judge how much sunlight was coming through the cracks in the curtains. The main window was almost completely open, and she was certain that Damon had closed them this morning. As it was, she was a prisoner on the top floor of the house until sunset or Damon came home to close the curtains. Since he was gone on an all-important blood bank withdrawal, she couldn't complain about his absence.

But she could be angry about whoever trapped her upstairs.

"Stefan! I know you're in here." She took a deep breath and summoned her strength. "Unless you want me to follow you through that sunlight, you need to come back up here." This was _not _the time for Bonnie to doubt Elena's ability to control herself. Two weeks without an incident should have been more than enough time to earn a daylight ring. "I warned you."

"Wait!" The footsteps grew louder as Stefan walked up the stairs. He slowly mounted the stairs and came to a stop at the end of the hall. "Did you need something?" Polite but distant – he leaned against the bannister as if he were deliberately keeping four rooms' worth of space between them.

"I….just wanted to talk." Now that she had his attention, she was at a loss as to what to say.

Stefan shrugged but made no movement to close the distance between them. "What about?"

That _baby vampire instability _kicked in at his almost-painful level of politeness. "Anything!" Her voice echoed through the house. His eyes widened and his frown deepened. "Sorry." She took a breath and tried to relax as Damon had showed her. "It's been two weeks, Stefan." She let the words hang like an accusation in the air. "You've barely even looked at me."

"You seem to be doing alright with Damon."

"Don't blame this on him." Anger welled up inside her. "Look at me, _damn it." _For the first time of the conversation, he looked directly at her, and she couldn't decipher the emotion within his eyes. "Two weeks…you haven't touched me at all. It's like you can't even bear to be in the same room with me. Stefan, you're the reason I'm like this."

"I know." His voice was rough with emotion as he focused on something just over her shoulder. "If Damon and I had left town before all this started, this would never have happened."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." She flashed down the hall until she was directly in front of him. "I'm like this because of _your _choice. I was going to let myself die."

Stefan shook his head. "I couldn't let you do that."

"Then you're going to have to live with the consequences. I _have. _That's what I've been doing with Damon. While you've pretended I don't exist, he's been teaching me how to keep going. The Elena I used to be is still here…sort of." Her breath caught in her chest as she stared into his pain-filled eyes. "That's it. That's what's wrong. When you were with me, you could pretend you were still really alive."

"And now you're not." His words stung as if she'd been physically slapped. "I'm sorry Elena. I couldn't let you die. But now, when I look at you, all I see is her."

It was as if all the air rushed out of the room. She couldn't stand here with him looking at her like that. Without thinking, she sped down the stairs and fled out the door.

* * *

Pain.

Worse than the time she'd accidentally poured a pot of boiling water down her leg last year when she was trying to prove to Jeremy she could actually cook.

Every fiber of her being was on fire – so intense she couldn't move.

"Elena!" Sheer terror filled his voice as his strong arms wrapped around her. Just in time…like he always was. "What are you doing?"

Damon picked her up and gently cradled her to his chest as he flew through the front door and retreated into the soothing darkness of his bathroom. The coolness of the tile made it almost possible to breathe again. Gradually, the pain ebbed away enough so she could focus on his ice blue eyes. If he was looking at her like that, then she definitely didn't want to know what she looked like right now.

"What were you doing?" He smoothed her hair out of her eyes as he searched for meaning behind her actions.

"I wasn't thinking." Her lips cracked with the effort to talk.

"I kind of guessed that." A hint of a smile came to his lips as the searing pain began to ebb away. "Can I go get you something to drink?"

"No." She caught hold of his arm. She didn't want to be alone right now, but she also definitely didn't want Damon to meet Stefan before he knew what had happened. As the physical pain faded, the emotional pain came into sharper focus. Tears she'd been unwilling to let Stefan see poured down her cheeks. "He…." She couldn't go on.

"Shhh." He tested her ability to sit on her own as he slowly stood. Walking to the sink, he ran cold water over a washrag and brought it back to her. Holding it against her painfully raw cheek, he held the cloth over the worst of the burns.

Elena allowed him to simply hold her in the silence as she watched her skin change from blistered red to pink and finally to almost its normal color. Only then could she summon the courage to speak. "He said when he looks at me now, all he can see is Katherine."

"No." He shifted so he could better see her face. Cupping her cheeks in his hands, he saw the complete and utter devastation in her eyes. _This _was why she hadn't wanted to turn. She didn't want to be Katherine. "Listen to me." He waited until her eyes were focused on him. "You are _not _Katherine." He nodded for emphasis. "She died to save herself from Klaus. You died to save the people you care about."

And then she began to cry.

* * *

Damon wasn't sure how much time passed as he sat on the floor with Elena in his arms. He knew this time was coming. She'd fought too hard, been too strong, she'd never allowed herself to really mourn the life she lost when she took that sip from the tumbler.

Gradually, her tears subsided and she turned to look at him. "Sorry about that." She wiped her cheek with the corner of her sleeve. "And thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been here."

Damon grinned back at her as he helped her slowly to her feet. "At your service. I just never knew you'd take the _savior _part of the name quite so literally." He winked, but the look in her eyes stopped him cold.

"I don't just mean today."

It was a good thing Damon didn't really need to breathe because the look in her eyes stopped him cold in his tracks. He'd seen that look once before – in a shabby motel right outside Denver as Elena had let her inhibitions down for a few minutes….until his own mistaken compulsion got in the way.

Elena was definitely _not _compelled any longer. She placed one hand on his chest as the other stroked his cheek.

"Elena…" His voice came out little more than a growl. "It's too soon." She stopped his protest with a finger on his lips.

"Damon, if being a vampire intensifies everything, there's one thing I've never been more sure of. I never want you to let me go." Her lips crashed into his with a force that almost knocked him off his feet.

A door slammed downstairs. Stefan had been listening in on their conversation. But now his brother was gone…

Damon didn't waste any time. As much as he wanted to savor this moment, as he looked into the pools of chocolate staring into his eyes, he knew that time would come. But for now, he was following her lead.

In one swift movement, he scooped her off the floor and carried her into his bedroom. Abandoned clothing left a trail across the bedroom to his bed. As her skin melded perfectly into his, they dropped onto the bed. She deepened the kiss as her tongue demanded admittance to his mouth.

He was seriously going to enjoy this part of Elena being a vampire.

She purred as her hands splayed across the planes of his chest, and he tangled his fingers in the long, brown locks that had tempted him for so long. He rolled onto his back and pushed her away from him as he cupped her breasts with his hands. Flicking his thumb across a nipple, he was rewarded by a shudder running the length of her body.

"_Everything _is more intense when you're a vampire." He flashed a wicked grin as he rolled his hips beneath her.

Her eyes widened and she blinked down at him in shock. "Then you're going to have to show me."

"Oh, I plan to." He flipped her onto her back and covered the length of her body with his. Her nails raked across his thighs as she urged him to hurry. She didn't have to ask twice. With an urgent need, he spread her legs wider apart before fully uniting with her.

Elena gasped before she moaned into his waiting mouth. Entwining her fingers with his, she matched his movements with her own, and Damon was soon rewarded by the sensation that she understood exactly how much her senses were heightened. As his own release came, she stared into his eyes without blinking. "That was…"

He brushed his lips against hers again. "Worth waiting for?" He rolled onto his side and she rested her cheek on his chest. He continued to lazily explore the skin he'd neglected in his earlier haste. Sliding down her body, he wrapped his lips around her nipple sucked gently.

"That's one way to describe it." Elena placed a fingertip below his chin and tilted his face up to look into hers. "Damon." Her voice grew unusually serious. "I love you."

Blue eyes locked on brown as he settled onto the pillow next to her. "_Now_ it's right."

* * *

A final note: Thanks for reading and reviewing. An author puts a lot of him/herself in their writing. It's always nice to know what readers think about a story. I promise I'll answer all my reviews, but this past week has been a bit unusual for me.

Thanks for keeping me company during these past few days. Your reviews have meant more to me than y'all can ever know.

Until next time….


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